As a joke, students voted in a unexpecting Sophomore student Whitney Kropp for homecoming court. Whitney was surprised when she won and even more surprised when she learned it was a joke. Watch the video below to see how the town has rallied behind her in support.

Questions (from Facebook community): “Is it wrong for me to want to date?” and “How long should I give it till I start dating again?”

It is absolutely not wrong to want to date. We are created to be in partnership, to live in close community, and we are having to lay down what we’ve been used to for years – living out our daily lives with another person. We are alone perhaps for the first time as adults. And there is a certain kind of loneliness that can accompany this season that can only be satisfied by finding another partner. So, no, it is not wrong to want to date.

Being the lone romance writer on a book tour of 28 Oregon authors is an odd experience. If anyone sees you smiling, they assume you’ve been doing something torrid.

They may have a point.

I’ve had a great time being part of the Crazy 8s Author Tour, and I’m stoked to head to Cannon Beach this Saturday for our next tour stop. I couldn’t help noticing a common theme in the speeches given by my fellow authors at our first event last weekend. Many poked fun at themselves for using Facebook to procrastinate book deadlines. Some made reference to Twitter, and during the Q&A portion of the presentation we fielded several audience questions about writers’ groups.

There are times in our lives when we really have no choice but to pause. We can fight our way back to our routine and pretend it all didn’t happen but eventually we will crash and burn. So what’s the point of doing it that way, pausing is a good thing. Events happen for a reason. Life is full of causes and choices and each event carries its own level of significance.

Last week I was in Cleveland for my father-in-law’s funeral and I was not only reminded of the history of my life, during the past 32 years as a member of his family, but I was also reminded of the history of his life. The truth is, neither of us really had a huge impact on the other. That may have been different if we had lived in the same neighborhood, or state, but we didn’t. We were connected but separated by over 400 miles for half of our relationship and 2,500 for these past 15 years.

Don’t you love to peek behind the curtain to find out who’s hidden back there, making things happen? I do. I finally got to give that curtain a yank yesterday, and I discovered a remarkable woman. I have to tell you about Naomi Inman and what she’s been doing for all of us behind the scenes.

In 2008, Naomi was involved in the launching of the Women’s Report. She brought a wealth of experience and knowledge with her. She earned her master’s degree in journalism and radio from Regent University, honored as the outstanding graduate in the school of journalism. She worked in Portland at radio station KPDQ as a producer and copywriter. For two and a half years she worked as a writer and the assistant editor of Brainstorm Northwest, a policy magazine. Once her sons were born, though, she stepped away from the professional world and focused primarily on raising her children. She said, “I fit in writing projects when I could with an eye toward expanding my career and my horizons as I launched my sons.”

I went for a walk with one of my best friends last week. The neighborhood she currently lives in is my old neighborhood. We were walking along very familiar sidewalks. At one point, mid-conversation, I started to cry. I realized that fifteen years ago, I had walked those exact sidewalks with my daughter in a stroller. I could picture what she looked like, what I looked like. I could feel the stroller handle in my hands. I could see myself bending down to pick up a sippy cup she had tossed out, to pick up dolly. I could hear myself talking to her in baby talk, pointing out the leaves and the houses and the cars going by. I also realized that fifteen years ago I had found out I was pregnant with my son.

Fifteen years ago.

Do you remember fifteen years ago? Where were you in life? What were you doing? Who were you with? What did you love?